A Tasmanian man caught with over 2,000 child abuse images and videos on multiple phones has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Troy Leigh Cracknell, 53, was arrested in February 2024 after police found the material in the Pictures and Downloads folders of five phones during a search of his Glenorchy home.
Acting Supreme Court Justice David Porter said Cracknell admitted to police that he had been looking at and downloading the material for four to five years.
Cracknell told investigators he liked looking at the images of young girls and he sometimes pleasured himself while viewing the material.
The court heard Cracknell knew his actions were “criminally and morally wrong” and was “greatly ashamed” of his behaviour.
Justice Porter said that being arrested had come as a “significant shock” to Cracknell, despite serving time behind bars in the 1990s for other sexual offences involving two young girls.
“The grave evils of accessing and possessing child exploitation material have been stated many times,” Porter said.
“These are not victimless crimes. The production of such material involves the exploitation and abuse of children somewhere in the world. The damage done is often profound.”
Cracknell was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.
He will also be placed on the Community Protection Register for 15 years upon his release.
